UK might need negative rates if recovery disappoints: BoE's Vlieghe

LONDON: The Bank of England might need to cut interest rates below zero later this year or in 2022 if a recovery in the economy disappoints, especially if there is persistent unemployment, policymaker Gertjan Vlieghe said on Friday.

Vlieghe said he thought the likeliest scenario was that the economy would recover strongly as forecast by the central bank earlier this month, meaning a further loosening of monetary policy would not be needed.

Data published on Friday suggested the economy had stabilised after a new COVID-19 lockdown hit retailers last month, while businesses and consumers are hopeful a fast vaccination campaign will spur a recovery.

Vlieghe said in a speech published by the BoE that there was a risk of lasting job market weakness hurting wages and prices.

"In such a scenario, I judge more monetary stimulus would be appropriate, and I would favour a negative Bank Rate as the tool to implement the stimulus," he said.

"The time to implement it would be whenever the data, or the balance of risks around it, suggest that the recovery is falling short of fully eliminating economic slack, which might be later this year or into next year," he added.

Vlieghe's comments are similar to those of fellow policymaker Michael Saunders, who said on Thursday negative rates could be the BoE's best tool in future.

Earlier this month the BoE gave British financial institutions six months to get ready for the possible introduction of negative interest rates, though it stressed that no decision had been taken on whether to implement them.

Investors saw the move as reducing the likelihood of the BoE following other central banks and adopting negative rates.

Some senior BoE policymakers, such as Deputy Governor Dave Ramsden, believe that adding to the central bank's 875 billion pounds ($1.22 trillion) of government bond purchases remains the best way of boosting the economy if needed.

Vlieghe underscored the scale of the hit to Britain's economy and said it was clear the country was not experiencing a V-shaped recovery, adding it was more like "something between a swoosh-shaped recovery and a W-shaped recovery."

"I want to emphasise how far we still have to travel in this recovery," he said, adding that it was "highly uncertain" how much of the pent-up savings amassed by households during the lockdowns would be spent.

By contrast, last week the BoE's chief economist, Andy Haldane, likened the economy to a "coiled spring."

Vlieghe also warned against raising interest rates if the economy appeared to be outperforming expectations.

"It is perfectly possible that we have a short period of pent up demand, after which demand eases back again," he said.

Higher interest rates were unlikely to be appropriate until 2023 or 2024, he said.